Note: The following article appeared in the Nov. 6, 2008 edition of The Augusta Chronicle

Dozens of area baseball players have reached that lifelong dream of making it as a professional baseball player. Many of them have returned to Augusta to help the next generation do the same.

Augusta residents Robbie Wachman, a former pitcher in the Cincinnati Reds organization, and Ray Serrano, who spent a portion of the summer as a catcher for the Atlanta Braves' Triple-A affiliate in Richmond, Va., have gathered together a group of current and former pro ball players from the Augusta area to create the Best 9 Training Academy of Augusta. The training academy's purpose is to help local athletes in their pursuit of a college or professional career.

"There is a big talent pool in the Augusta area," Wachman said. "We want to help them. Our role is to build confidence and show them how to do things the right way."

Wachman is the owner of the newly named business and one of the many athletes with professional experience who serve as instructors at the indoor facility in Martinez.

The group was once designated as the Augusta chapter of the Chain Baseball Academy, a similar player-development company based in Savannah, Ga.

"We're still close with (Chain Baseball founder) Buddy Meyer, but they're focused on teams and elite high school kids," Wachman said. "We reach out to everyone, but we start young. I think our youngest guys are 7 years old."

The indoor facility prides itself in merging proven professional players with potential local talent each afternoon. Players from Harlem to Aiken regularly make the trip to work out alongside older athletes who have already reached the pros.

"I go there three times a week, and I talk to Robbie and we talk about what I should do that day, and then I go to (Ohio Warhawks coach and Augusta resident) Fernando (Mickens) and start hitting. That's pretty much every time," said Jay Aplin, a junior at Harlem High School. "They all help me out with baseball, but some of the things they say helps me out off the field, too."

Minor leaguers from the Augusta area who also serve as instructors for the new academy include Tampa Bay Rays pitching prospect Kevin Lynn (North Augusta), Cincinnati Reds Single-A outfielder Keltavious Jones (Butler) and Los Angeles Angels prospects Cephas Howard (Glenn Hills) and Demetrius Washington (Silver Bluff).

Christian Castorri, a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates' Double-A team who played college ball with Wachman, and former Glenn Hills star and North Greenville University slugger Chris Tate also help the young players.

"It's pretty cool to walk in and work out at the same time with all these guys," Aplin said.

Howard, who came out of Glenn Hills as a hitter with raw talent, bounced around colleges before he was the 1,129th pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft as a pitching prospect.

"Things would have probably been a lot different if I had a place like this to go to when I was in high school," he said as he stood in a batting cage inside the facility. "It's just like in pro ball. There's people here who know what they're talking about critiquing you and telling you what you need to do to get better. If I had something like this, I probably wouldn't have had to go to college. I would have been drafted out of high school."

Wachman and his group also use their contacts within professional baseball to bring in other instructors.

The training academy will hold a hitting clinic later this month featuring Atlanta Braves outfielder Brandon Jones. Serrano, Mickens and Tommy Dunbar, an Aiken resident and former Texas Rangers slugger, will also serve as instructors.

"With our position we have a lot of connections with pro scouts and people in the business," Serrano said. "We can find spots for the kids in showcases or we can bring in some players and coaches here. We want to give them an opportunity to be seen."

The time and effort from professionals who frequent the training academy on a regular basis isn't exactly community service. They get paid, which serves as a steady paycheck during the off-season, but Wachman said the job's rewarding in other ways.

"This is the ideal job for these guys," he said. "It works perfect because it is a source of income, but they also feel an obligation to give back to their community. They also have the chance to work out in our facility to stay in shape during the off-season."

For Wachman, who no longer plays professional baseball, it's a full time job that keeps him around the sport but doesn't keep him away from his family.

"When my wife and I had our first child, I was playing ball and on the road for the first three months of her life," Wachman said. "I couldn't do that anymore. This keeps me at home with my family."